“Carte de Vacances Bradings des Régions de Montreal et des Laurentides” print by Stanley Turner (1948)

The now-defunct Brading's Capital Brewery of Ottawa commissioned this historical “vacation map” of Montréal and the Laurentiens in 1948, and in response the Toronto artist, OCAD alumnus, and Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Stanley Turner produced a canary-yellow map that darkens the more you look at it.

Bright spots include the skillfully jumbled caricatures Turner has drawn of each of the cities and towns from Cornwall in the west to Trois-Rivieres in the east, and his gentle animal and recreation scenes are skillfully done. It has a few interesting anachronisms as well; many of its vignettes relate to French and English colonial figures warring with each other, exploring, and hunting, but among them are 1940s-era ships, bridges, factories, airplanes and buildings (including Montréal’s Oratoire Saint-Joseph, Notre-Dame Basilica, and the Marché Bonsecours) drawn in an appealing 3/4 perspective.

What are the dark spots? It’s also a map full of scenes harmful to reconciliation in Canada, ignoring the First Nations’ participation in history unless stereotyped as warriors with shield and spear (as seen near Farnam) or kneeling in the presence of a white authority figure (as near Hemmingford).

From there it gets worse. The Confederate flag south of the border in St. Albans seemingly didn’t bother Turner or Brading’s customers, but I've "disappeared" it. I have no patience for that shit. It's a shame Turner's work is so gorgeous in some ways, but so ugly in others. The other maps he made for Brading's (of the Ottawa Valley and Gaspé in 1946 and the lower St. Laurent in 1948) would be favourites of mine if not for these missteps.

A reproduction available at 12x16" or 18x24" on Epson Enhanced Matte 192 gsm paper printed with Epson UltraChrome XD2 archival ink. Sold in an open edition, unframed. Restored from this digital copy from the Archives de Montréal.